What is Sodium hypophosphite used for in food?

It is listed as an antioxidant, an emulsifier and a thickener — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.

Is Sodium hypophosphite banned in Europe?

No. Sodium hypophosphite does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.

Where is Sodium hypophosphite permitted?

Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.

Is Sodium hypophosphite vegan?

Yes. Sodium hypophosphite is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sodium hypophosphite

CAS 7681-53-0

Listed as an antioxidant, an emulsifier and a thickener by the US.

Listed as antioxidants (US) · emulsifiers (US) · thickeners (US) · stabilisers (US)

United States: Antioxidant — FDA, Substances Added to Food: SODIUM HYPOPHOSPHITE
United States: Emulsifiers and emulsifier salts — 21 CFR 184.1764, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(8)
United States: Stabilizers and thickeners — 21 CFR 184.1764, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(28)
United States: Stabilizers and thickeners — 21 CFR 184.1764, citing 21 CFR 170.3(o)(28)

Structure from PubChem CID 23675242 (National Library of Medicine, public domain). A depiction of one compound: where a listing covers a family, or a substance has no single structure, this page shows none.

Sodium hypophosphite is an emulsifier and stabiliser with a narrow range of food uses.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Sodium hypophosphite by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
Jurisdiction	Status	Citation
Australia and New ZealandFood Standards Australia New Zealand	No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
CanadaHealth Canada	No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here.
European UnionEuropean Commission / EFSA	No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
Great BritainFood Standards Agency / Food Standards Scotland	No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it.
JapanConsumer Affairs Agency	No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance.
South KoreaMinistry of Food and Drug Safety	No listing matchedThis site imports Part III of South Korea’s Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, matched by CAS number, then INS number, then exact name. Mixed preparations and sanitisers are not imported, and an entry whose identifiers disagreed with a page’s is held for review, so an empty row does not show that South Korea does not permit the substance.
United StatesFood and Drug Administration	Permitted	21 CFR 184.1764retrieved 2026-10-17
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA	Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.

How much is permitted

A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.

United States	—	1 no quantity stated

No regulator sets a figure for Sodium hypophosphite. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.

What it is made from

Produced by reacting white phosphorus with an alkali.

Vegan
Vegetarian

Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.

CAS registry number: 7681-53-0
InChIKey: ZGKNDXOLMOFEJH-UHFFFAOYSA-M
PubChem: CID 23675242

Every name it appears under

17 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

CAS registry number

7681-53-0

As it appears in regulation

Sodium hypophosphite

Other names

Hypophosphorous acid monosodium salt
Monosodium hypophosphite
NaO2P
Natriumhypophosphit
Phosphinic acid monosodium salt
Phosphinic acid, sodium salt
Sodium hydrogen phosphite (NaH2PO2)
Sodium hydrophosphite
SODIUM HYPOPHOSPHITE
Sodium hypophosphite (NaH2PO2)
Sodium phosphenite
Sodium phosphinate
Sodium phosphinate (NaH2PO2)
sodium;oxido(oxo)phosphanium
ZGKNDXOLMOFEJH-UHFFFAOYSA-M

Hazard reference values

No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Common questions

Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.

What is Sodium hypophosphite?: Sodium hypophosphite is an emulsifier and stabiliser with a narrow range of food uses.
What is Sodium hypophosphite used for in food?: It is listed as an antioxidant, an emulsifier and a thickener — the role the US assigns it. This page shows every function each regulator records, with the citation for each.
Is Sodium hypophosphite banned in Europe?: No. Sodium hypophosphite does not appear on the EU's list of authorised food additives, which is not the same as being banned: the EU permits an additive only where it has authorised it, and usually the reason for an absence is that no one applied. The EU has made no finding against this substance. It does mean it may not be used as a food additive in the EU today.
Where is Sodium hypophosphite permitted?: Of the seven regulators this site reads, the US permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
Is Sodium hypophosphite vegan?: Yes. Sodium hypophosphite is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.

Sources for this page

ecfr retrieved 2026-10-17

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

Machine-readable: a JSON record of this additive is given on request —how to ask for access.

Follow changes to Sodium hypophosphite:Atom feed — regulatory events, and any change the weekly refresh detects in its provisions.